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Illinois Basketball: Brad Underwood not putting all eggs in one basket

By Rees Woodcock

Jan 4, 2017; South Bend, IN, USA; Two basketballs are stuck in the net during warmups before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Louisville Cardinals at the Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame won 77-70. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 4, 2017; South Bend, IN, USA; Two basketballs are stuck in the net during warmups before the game between the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Louisville Cardinals at the Purcell Pavilion. Notre Dame won 77-70. Mandatory Credit: Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports /
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There is a few class of 2018 recruits that the Illinois basketball team has been focusing on for the last few years.

Ayo Dosunmu and Tim Finke are the two players that the previous coaching regime really targeted. These two recruits are special and both are ranked in the top 100. But, the new regime is clearly not putting all their eggs in one basketball.

Brad Underwood wants to build a championship roster and doing that means offering and wooing many different players. They have already started to do that for the class of 2018.


Yesterday, Underwood offered a scholarship to Silvio De Sousa. He is a big-time recruit that would help change the culture of the Illinois basketball team.

De Sousa is a five-star recruit from the class of 2018. He is listed as the No. 18 player in the class and the No. 7 power forward as well.

I would love for De Sousa to come to Champaign because Illinois needs big players and that is what he would bring to the table. He is currently 6-foot-8, 220-pounds, but by the time he gets into college I am sure he will have grown a few more inches to become a 6-foot-10 player.

Illinois needs paint help for the future. As of right now, the only player they have who is over 6-foot-7 is Michael Finke. He is 6-foot-10, but he isn’t a true center and he will be a senior in 2018. That means Illinois needs some serious paint help.

This was a great offer by Underwood because of the help the Illini need in the paint, but De Sousa will not be an easy recruit to get. In fact, he has some big-time scholarship offers right now.

Illinois is the sixth team to offer De Sousa a scholarship. The other five teams are Florida, Florida State, Louisville, LSU and Maryland. The Florida schools probably have the lead as of now because of the location factor.

But, Illinois does have a presence in the recruiting game in the state of Florida and they have Orlando Antigua who has recruited the state as well. I would like to see De Sousa come to play for Illinois and team up with fellow Florida standout Trent Frazier.

Next: 4 Illini recruiting targets doing well in AAU league

I am not holding my breath for a De Sousa commitment to Illinois, but it is fun to think about. I also think it isn’t out of the question for Illinois to be a factor in his recruitment. I am just glad that Underwood is not putting all his eggs in one basket.

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